JP4117410B2 - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device used for cleaning an object to be cleaned such as various industrial products such as metal processed parts and plastic molded parts and tableware.

  In general, metal processing products processed by processing equipment such as machining centers and automatic lathes are attached with oils such as processing oil, rust prevention oil, and lubricating oil, and various cleaning devices are used to remove these oils. It is used.

  In conventional cleaning equipment, solvent-based cleaning agents such as hydrocarbons or water-based cleaning agents using surfactants are placed in the cleaning tub together with the object to be cleaned, and the object to be cleaned is cleaned using ultrasonic waves. (See JP-A-9-125275, hereinafter, this technique is referred to as Conventional Example 1). The object to be cleaned is dried using various dryers such as a centrifugal dryer.

  Further, the inventor (applicant) of the present application includes a cleaning rotary drum and a draining rotary drum connected to the cleaning drum, and the draining rotary drum is formed by reducing the diameter thereof in a tapered shape. A cleaning device has been developed in which spiral feed fins are formed in the cleaning drum and the draining rotary drum and the draining rotary drum are arranged along a horizontal axis (Japanese Patent No. 3446029).

  According to this conventional cleaning apparatus, when the objects to be cleaned are sequentially fed through the cleaning rotary drum, the draining rotary drum, and the drying rotary drum that are integrally formed, the objects to be cleaned are provided in the drum. It is transported while being inverted upside down by a small protruding piece. Thereby, while having a compact configuration, a series of steps are efficiently and collectively processed, and at the same time, high cleaning efficiency is exhibited. In addition, for example, in the case of press processing of metal products, in addition to being able to precisely clean the objects to be cleaned one by one in-line, it is easy to directly connect with other processing machines in actual use. The arrangement configuration and the like can be provided with excellent convenience (hereinafter, this technique is referred to as Conventional Example 2).

JP 9-125275 A Japanese Patent No. 3446029

  Any of the cleaning agents used in Conventional Example 1 has a problem in terms of environment. In other words, solvent-based cleaning agents such as hydrocarbons are flammable, and there is a danger of factory disasters, and equipment for preventing this and for reclaiming used solvents requires great costs. . Note that, in the drying process after cleaning, the solvent attached to the cleaning object is evaporated and dried, so that there is a problem that a stain adheres to the cleaning object. In the case of water-based cleaning agents, there is no danger of a factory disaster, but the waste liquid must be treated as industrial waste and the cost cannot be ignored.

  In addition, since another drying device was used to dry the cleaned object, the object to be cleaned had to be transferred to the drying device, the workability was poor, and the object to be cleaned was transferred to the drying device. May get dirty.

  Conventional Example 2 is an excellent in-line type cleaning apparatus, but the inlet and outlet of the object to be cleaned formed on the rotating drum are opposed to each other with a gap therebetween, and the cleaning rotating drum and the draining rotation Since the drum and the drying rotary drum are provided so as to be connected horizontally, there is a problem that the cleaning device is increased in size.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and even when highly viscous oil adheres to an object to be cleaned, it can be reliably cleaned without using a solvent or an aqueous cleaning agent. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus that can perform the cleaning process and the drying process with a single apparatus and that can be downsized.

  The cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a cleaning container that is provided with an inlet / outlet, a side surface, and a bottom surface of an object to be cleaned, and that is disposed so as to be inclined downward from the inlet / outlet toward the bottom surface, and the cleaning container is rotated about a rotation axis Rotating means, a feed fin that is formed in a spiral shape on the inner surface of the cleaning container, and moves the object to be cleaned by rotation of the cleaning container by the rotating means, and is provided inside the cleaning container and supplied from the outside A heater for raising the temperature of the cleaning water, and a plurality of nozzles for injecting the high-temperature water heated by the heater onto the object to be cleaned in the cleaning container, and draining the cleaned water in the cleaning container A drain hole is formed, and the heater raises the temperature of the cleaning water to a temperature at which the oil component adhering to the object to be cleaned is lowered to a viscosity at which the oil component can be removed.

  The drain hole may be formed at least on the bottom surface of the cleaning container.

  The drain hole may be formed of a punching metal.

  The rotating means may rotate the cleaning container at a high speed in order to centrifugally dry the object to be cleaned.

  The heater may generate hot air for drying the object to be cleaned and eject the hot air from the nozzle.

A protrusion may be provided on a side surface of the feed fin.
Projections may be provided on the side surface and / or the bottom surface in the cleaning container.

  A first tank for storing cleaning water to be sent to the cleaning container, and a fixed amount of cleaned water discharged from the cleaning container were stored, and an oil discharge port was formed to overflow the oil component when the predetermined amount was exceeded. You may have a 2nd tank and the 3rd tank which stores the oil component overflowed from the said oil discharge port.

  A cleaning water receiver that collects the cleaned water discharged from the drain hole of the cleaning container may be fixedly disposed on the outer side of the side surface and the bottom surface of the cleaning container with a space therebetween.

  According to the present invention, since the inlet and outlet of the object to be cleaned formed in the cleaning container are common, the apparatus can be downsized.

  Further, since the cleaning process and the drying process can be performed by the same apparatus, the workability is improved, and there is no possibility that the object to be cleaned is contaminated while being transferred to the drying apparatus as in the prior art.

  Also, since the cleaning water is heated and sprayed onto the object to be cleaned so that the oil component adhering to the object to be cleaned is reduced to a removable viscosity, high viscosity oil adheres to the object to be cleaned. Even if it is, it can wash | clean reliably.

  In addition, it uses city water, pure water, or ultrapure water without using any solvent-based cleaning agents that may cause factory disasters or water-based cleaning agents that may cause environmental pollution. There is no risk of factory disasters or environmental pollution.

  In addition, since the use cost of the cleaning agent is eliminated, low-cost cleaning is possible.

  Further, since cleaning is performed by jetting high-temperature high-pressure water, cleaning can be completed in a short time.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaning container 2 that includes an inlet / outlet port 2a, a side surface 2b, and a bottom surface 2c of an object to be cleaned 1 and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom. Have

  The cleaning container 2 is disposed so as to be inclined downward from the entrance 2a toward the bottom surface 2c. The inclination angle θ is, for example, about 20 degrees.

  Spiral feed fins 3 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cleaning container 2. The spiral pitch, height, and the like of the feed fin 3 are appropriately set depending on the size, size, or shape of the article to be cleaned 1 or the type of the article to be cleaned 1.

  The first gear 4 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning container 2 meshes with the second gear 6 attached to the drive shaft 5 a of the motor 5. By driving the motor 5, the rotational force is transmitted to the cleaning container 2 via the second gear 6 and the first gear 4, and the cleaning container 2 is rotated in the forward direction or the reverse direction around the rotation axis L. be able to. By the rotation of the cleaning container 2 in the forward direction, one or more objects to be cleaned 1 introduced into the entrance / exit 2a are transferred in the direction of the bottom surface 2c by the spiral feed fins 3. In addition, by the rotation of the cleaning container 2 in the reverse direction, the object to be cleaned 1 on the bottom surface 2 c side is transferred in the direction of the entrance / exit 2 a by the spiral feed fin 3.

  Further, the motor 5 can rotate the cleaning container 2 at high speed in order to centrifugally dry the object 1 to be cleaned.

  As shown in FIG. 2, protrusions 22 are provided on the side surface of the feed fin 3, the side surface 2b and the bottom surface 2c in the cleaning container 2, respectively. Since the object 1 to be cleaned in the cleaning container 2 is reversed by hitting these protrusions 22, the object 1 to be cleaned can be steadily cleaned by the reversal, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved by stirring.

  A first tank 7 is provided for storing the cleaning water 8 to be sent to the cleaning container 2. The cleaning water 8 is, for example, city water or pure water (including ultrapure water). The cleaning water 8 in the first tank 7 is replenished from the supply source S via the suction pump SP. The cleaning water 8 in the first tank 7 is drawn by the pump P, first heated by the first heater 9, and sent to the cleaning container 2.

  Inside the cleaning container 2 are a second heater 10 that raises the temperature of the cleaning water 8 supplied from the outside (first heater 9), and high-temperature water that is heated by the second heater 10. And a shower unit 11 having a plurality of nozzles 11 a for spraying the object to be cleaned 1 in the cleaning container 2.

  The second heater 10 raises the temperature of the cleaning water 8 to a temperature at which the oil component adhering to the object 1 to be cleaned is lowered to a viscosity at which the oil component can be removed. That is, the viscosity of the contaminated oil is lowered at a high temperature and can be easily removed, and the solubility of water is improved in proportion to the temperature. Due to the synergistic effect of the decrease in viscosity and the improvement in water dissolving power, the contaminated oil is removed by high-pressure injection of high-temperature water from the nozzle 11a, and precision cleaning can be realized.

  FIG. 3 is a graph schematically showing the relationship between the cleaning temperature and the cleaning power. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning power is about 60% at 80 ° C., but as the temperature approaches 100 ° C., the cleaning power rapidly increases and approaches 100%.

  Accordingly, the cleaning water 8 sent from the pump P is heated by the first heater 9 and then the pressure necessary for raising the temperature by the second heater 10 to 100 ° C. or higher, preferably 120 ° C. or higher. It is preferable to be pressurized and reheated.

  Heating energy can be saved by heating twice with the first heater 9 and the second heater 10. The reheated cleaning water 8 is heated to a melting point of the contaminated oil or higher and is jetted from the nozzle 11a to the object to be cleaned 1 as high-temperature steam.

  Further, the temperature of the cleaning water 8 is adjusted by adjusting the amount of the cleaning water 8 sent from the pump P, whereby the pressure in the nozzle 11a is adjusted to obtain an injection pressure of a predetermined required temperature.

  The side surface 2b and the bottom surface 2c of the cleaning container 2 are made of, for example, punching metal, and a large number of drain holes 2d for discharging the cleaning water 8 in the cleaning container 2 are formed. The size, number, interval, etc. of the drain holes 2d are designed so that an appropriate amount of the cleaning water 8 remains in the cleaning container 2 during the cleaning in consideration of the amount of the cleaning water 8 sprayed from the nozzle 11a. Is done.

  On the outside of the side surface 2 b and the bottom surface 2 c of the cleaning container 2, the cleaning water receiver 12 is fixedly disposed at a predetermined interval from the cleaning container 2. The washing water receiver 12 has a role of collecting the washed water 8a discharged from the drain hole 2d of the washing container 2 and preventing the washing water 8 from being scattered when the washing container 2 is rotated at a high speed.

  The cleaning water receiver 12 is provided with an automatic opening / closing valve 13. When a predetermined amount of washed water 8 a is accumulated in the cleaning water receiver 12 more than necessary, the automatic opening / closing valve 13 is opened and discharged to the second tank 14. Is done.

  The second tank 14 stores a fixed amount of the washed water 8a discharged from the cleaning container 2, and is formed with an oil discharge port 16 that overflows the upper oil component 15 when the predetermined amount is exceeded. The oil component 15 overflowed from the oil discharge port 16 of the second tank 14 is stored in the third tank 17. The third tank 17 is provided with a valve 18 for taking out the oil component 15.

  Next, the operation of the cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, the object to be cleaned 1 is introduced from the entrance / exit 2a of the cleaning container 2 and the motor 5 is driven to rotate the cleaning container 2 about the rotation axis L in the forward direction. As a result, the article to be cleaned 1 is transferred in the direction of the bottom surface 2 c by the feed fin 3.

  Next, the pump P is driven, and the cleaning water 8 in the first tank 7 is heated by the first heater 9 and then heated by the second heater 10, and the heated high temperature. Water is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned 1 in the cleaning container 2 through the plurality of nozzles 11a. At that time, the object to be cleaned 1 is cleaned by swinging the cleaning container 2 by alternately repeating forward rotation and reverse rotation.

  Since the temperature of the cleaning water 8 is raised above the melting point of the contaminated oil by the second heater 10, the viscosity of the oil component 15 adhering to the cleaning object 1 is reduced to a removable viscosity, and the cleaning object 1 Can be reliably washed.

  In addition, since the protrusions 22 are provided on the side surface of the feed fin 3, the side surface 2 b and the bottom surface 2 c in the cleaning container 2, the object 1 to be cleaned in the cleaning container 2 hits these protrusions 22 and is inverted. Therefore, the object to be cleaned 1 can be steadily cleaned by this reversal, and the cleaning efficiency can be improved by stirring. For example, in the case of the object to be cleaned 1 having a blind hole (a hole not penetrating), the cleaning liquid is repeatedly moved in and out of the blind hole by reversing the object to be cleaned 1 by the protrusion 22 so that the cleaning can be performed steadily. .

  After the cleaning of the cleaning object 1 is completed, the cleaning container 2 is rotated at a high speed in the forward direction, and the cleaning object 1 is dried by centrifugation. At that time, the cleaned water 8a in the cleaning container 2 is scattered and discharged from the punching metal drain holes 2d constituting the side surface 2b and the bottom surface 2c, and the discharged cleaning water 8 is collected in the cleaning water receptacle 12. When a predetermined amount of the washed water 8a is accumulated in the washing water receiver 12, the automatic opening / closing valve 13 is opened and discharged to the second tank.

  After drying of the object to be cleaned 1 is completed, the object to be cleaned 1 on the bottom surface 2c side is transferred in the direction of the entrance / exit 2a by the spiral feed fin 3 by the rotation of the cleaning container 2 in the reverse direction. Then, it is automatically discharged to the outside through the discharge chute 19.

A certain amount of the washed water 8 a discharged from the washing container 2 is stored in the second tank 14. The oil component 15 floats as an oil layer on the upper surface of the second tank 14. When the washing water 8 in the second tank 14 exceeds a certain amount, the oil component 15 overflows from the oil discharge port 16. The oil component 15 overflowed from the oil discharge port 16 of the second tank 14 is stored in the third tank 17. The oil component 15 can be taken out by opening the valve 18 provided in the third tank 17. The extracted oil component 15 is discarded or recycled for other purposes (for example, for driving a processing device). According to the cleaning device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning container 2 Since the entrance / exit 2a of the to-be-cleaned object 1 formed in 1 is common, the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

  Further, since the cleaning process and the drying process can be performed by the same apparatus, the workability is improved, and there is no possibility that the object to be cleaned is contaminated while being transferred to the drying apparatus as in the prior art.

  In addition, since the cleaning water 8 is heated and sprayed onto the object to be cleaned 1 so that the oil component 15 attached to the object to be cleaned 1 is reduced to a removable viscosity, the viscosity of the object to be cleaned 1 is high. Even when oil is adhered, it can be reliably washed.

  In addition, it uses city water, pure water, or ultrapure water without using any solvent-based cleaning agents that may cause factory disasters or water-based cleaning agents that may cause environmental pollution. There is no risk of factory disasters or environmental pollution.

  In addition, since the use cost of the cleaning agent is eliminated, low-cost cleaning is possible.

  Further, since cleaning is performed by jetting high-temperature high-pressure water, cleaning can be completed in a short time.

  In addition, since the cleaning object 1 to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus of the present invention allows a relatively long cleaning time, it is not necessary to provide a rinse cleaning step.

  FIG. 4A is a side view showing a cleaning container 2 ′ used in the cleaning apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a bottom view thereof.

  In the first embodiment, when the object to be cleaned 1 is small, there is a possibility that the punching metal drain hole 2d constituting the cleaning container 2 is stuck. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cleaning container 2 ′ has a drain hole for discharging the side plate 2e without holes and the cleaning water 8. Since 2f is constituted by a plurality of bottom plates 2g formed in the vicinity of the periphery, cleaning can be performed even if the article to be cleaned 1 is small.

  Further, in the second embodiment, when the object to be cleaned 1 is dried, hot air is generated by the second heater 10 and sprayed from the nozzle 11a, not by centrifugal drying, so that the object 1 to be cleaned is discharged. dry.

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the automatic opening / closing valve 13 in the cleaning water receiver 12, and the cleaned water 8 a is naturally discharged to the second tank 14 through the cleaning water receiver 12.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the cleaning apparatus A according to the first or second embodiment described above is incorporated and operated together inside or outside another processing apparatus 20 such as an NC processing machine or a press machine. It is. The object to be cleaned 1 is put into the internal cleaning device 20 by opening the lid 21 provided in the processing device 20. The object to be cleaned 1 after cleaning is discharged to the outside of the processing apparatus 20 through the discharge chute 19 and taken out.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims.

  For example, a means for moving the inclination angle θ of the cleaning container 2 so as to be adjusted to a desired angle may be provided.

The cleaning apparatus of the present invention is, for example,
(1) Products (parts) produced in small quantities such as 50 or 100 units
(2) Products (parts) that allow a relatively long cleaning time
(3) Products (parts) that allow some damage due to rubbing during cleaning
Can be used for cleaning.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on the 1st Example of this invention.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the example by which the projection part for reversing a washing | cleaning material is provided in the side surface of a sending fin, the side surface in a washing | cleaning container, and a bottom face.

It is a graph which shows roughly the relation between washing temperature and washing power.

(A) is a side view which shows the washing | cleaning container used for the washing | cleaning apparatus based on the 2nd Example of this invention, (B) is the bottom view.

It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Washed object 2: Washing container 3: Feed fin 4: First gear 5: Motor 6: Second gear 7: First tank 8: Washing water 9: First heater 10: Second Heater 11: Shower unit 12: Washing water receptacle 13: Automatic opening / closing valve 14: Second tank 15: Oil component 16: Oil outlet 17: Third tank 18: Valve 19: Discharge chute 20: Processing device 21: Lid 22: Projection

Claims (9)

A cleaning container provided with an entrance, a side surface, and a bottom surface into which an object to be cleaned is input and discharged , and disposed to be inclined downward from the entrance toward the bottom surface;
A rotating means for rotating the cleaning container around a rotation axis;
A feed fin which is formed in a spiral shape on the inner surface of the cleaning container and moves the object to be cleaned by rotation of the cleaning container by the rotating means;
A heater that is provided inside the cleaning container and raises the temperature of cleaning water supplied from the outside;
A plurality of nozzles for injecting hot water heated by the heater onto an object to be cleaned in the cleaning container,
A drainage hole for draining washed water is formed in the washing container,
The heater raises the temperature of the washing water to a temperature at which the oil component adhering to the object to be washed is lowered to a viscosity that can be removed,
The rotating means rotates the cleaning container in one direction around the rotation axis to transfer the object to be cleaned input from the entrance to the bottom surface of the cleaning container, and the cleaning container is moved to the rotation axis. The object to be cleaned is washed alternately by rotating in one direction around the axis and in the other direction, the washing container is rotated in one direction around the rotation axis, and the object to be cleaned is dried by centrifugation. The cleaning container is rotated in the other direction around the rotation axis, and the object to be cleaned on the bottom surface side of the cleaning container is transferred in the entrance / exit direction.
Cleaning device characterized by that   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drain hole is formed at least on a bottom surface of the cleaning container.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drain hole is formed of a punching metal.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotating unit rotates the cleaning container at a high speed in order to centrifugally dry the object to be cleaned.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heater generates hot air for drying the object to be cleaned and sprays the hot air from the nozzle.   6. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided on a side surface of the feed fin.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided on a side surface and / or a bottom surface in the cleaning container.   A first tank for storing cleaning water to be sent to the cleaning container, and a fixed amount of cleaned water discharged from the cleaning container were stored, and an oil discharge port was formed to overflow the oil component when the predetermined amount was exceeded. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second tank and a third tank that stores an oil component overflowed from the oil discharge port.   The cleaning water receiver for collecting the cleaned water discharged from the drain hole of the cleaning container is fixedly disposed on the outer side of the side surface and the bottom surface of the cleaning container with a space therebetween. 9. The cleaning device according to any one of items 8 to 9.

Images